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Title VI and Section 504/Title II: Lynn Public Schools (MA) Compliance Review (01-10-5004)

On December 10, 2013, OCR and the Lynn Public Schools (District) reached an agreement regarding the overrepresentation of Black students in alternative school special education programs.  The agreement, entered into prior to the conclusion of OCR’s investigation, resolved OCR’s compliance review.  The District agreed to form a committee with expertise in addressing the overrepresentation of minorities in special education and to make recommendations to ensure the District is making appropriate determinations and addressing the root causes of the overrepresentation; take steps to ensure that its pre-referral program is consistently implemented at all schools, including the requirement that students be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE); provide written criteria to staff relating to the determination of when a student with a disability does or does not need an alternative school special education program placement; develop and distribute to all staff written guidelines for proper student file maintenance and annually monitor the files; conduct an annual administrative review of the placement of every Black student at an alternative school special education program and take appropriate action in response to any inappropriate evaluation or placement decisions; ensure and document that parents are advised of their right to procedural safeguards; train staff on alternative school special education program enrollment data trends, pre-referral processes, timely and appropriate evaluations, use of electronic data and proper file maintenance, outreach to students and parents, LRE, and how student racial, ethnic and cultural differences can affect special education referral, evaluation and placement processes; and develop and implement a comprehensive, interactive, and ongoing informational program for the parents of students placed in the alternative school special education programs regarding the District’s efforts to educate all of its special education students in the LRE.
Read the Resolution Letter download files PDF (151K) | Read the Resolution Agreement download files PDF (266K)



   
Last Modified: 01/15/2020